The present invention relates to window locks and fasteners, and more particularly, to automatic style window locks and fasteners.
In a typical window installation, a standard manually operated fastener is employed to lock and unlock the window. With this arrangement, an operator wishing to unlock and open the window must first release the fastener and then move the window to the open position. Conversely, to close and lock the window, the operator must move the window to the closed position and then re-latch the fastener to prevent the window from being opened from the exterior. This need to re-latch the fastener when the window is moved to the closed position presents a security problem because a window in the closed position can appear to be locked even though the fastener is not properly engaged.
To eliminate the need to re-latch and lock the window upon closure, “automatic snap” style window fasteners that provide automatic locking have been devised. However, these automatic fasteners complicate window opening because they require hand assistance; i.e., in order to unlock and open the window, the operator must in some way manipulate the fastener with one hand while simultaneously moving the window enough to overcome the automatic latching/locking means with the other hand. This hand assistance requirement not only makes it difficult to open the window, especially if an operator is physically incapable of doing such, but also presents a safety issue particularly in situations where a window needs to be opened quickly and effortlessly for emergency egress.
An additional problem common to both standard manually operated fasteners and “automatic snap” style fasteners is that neither offers a visual indicator that positively confirms that the attached window is unequivocally locked and secure. This lack of visual confirmation presents a security problem because a window can easily appear to be fully closed and fully locked when in fact it is not, which can occur from operator negligence and/or fastener malfunction.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a window fastener that locks automatically upon window closure, does not require hand assistance to overcome latching and locking, and furthermore, offers positive visual confirmation so that a person knows with certainty that the attached window is fully closed, locked, and secured against unwanted entry.